


Below My Feet

by glackedandmullered



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: hiking accidents, injuries
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-22
Updated: 2014-02-22
Packaged: 2018-01-13 10:17:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,703
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1222549
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/glackedandmullered/pseuds/glackedandmullered
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Self indulgent Hiking accident fic. </p><p>(ps, I live with a man who has worked on mountain rescue for 20 years and oh man he would hate me for shortening it down so much >.</p>
    </blockquote>





	Below My Feet

**Author's Note:**

> Self indulgent Hiking accident fic. 
> 
> (ps, I live with a man who has worked on mountain rescue for 20 years and oh man he would hate me for shortening it down so much >.

Hiking wasn’t Michaels forte, never had been. He had been raised on video games and the wonderful indoors, with air conditioning and plenty of food and drink whenever he needed. So why he was currently crossing the hot texan mountains, sweating and tired and just utterly gross he had no idea. He couldn’t say why he had agreed to this day out and he certainly couldn’t understand why the others had even suggested it, they were like him, indoor people and fucking proud. Either way they were here now, all 6 men in shorts, tshirts and boots, hauling themselves up ledge after ledge to get back onto the main road so they could go home. They had already been out for at least 5 hours.

“According to the map, the shortcut should be right around here.” Ryan announced, glancing up from his map and pointing in the general direction of the cliff edge they were approaching.

The sound of rushing water hit them as they rounded the corner, thunderous waves crashing against the rock below as they peered over the gorge. There was a thin trail around the base of the cliff edge, quite a few feet above the water. It looked treacherous at best. 

“No fucking way, we’re not going this way.” Ray squeaked, pressing his back against the cliff face.

“There’s a fucking guardrail, it’s fine,” Michael grumbled, tapping the dark wooden fencing that lined the trail around the cliff side. “Let’s just go so we can get home, I’m fucking wiped out.” He started off along the trail, stones crunching under his boots as the others reluctantly followed, feet crunching on the rocky ground.

They were about half way around the cliff when Michael turned to face backwards, still carrying on in the same direction, his back to the road ahead.

“Come on, hurry the fuck up, you guys are fucking slow.” He whined.

“Be fucking careful, Michael.” Ryan hissed, grabbing at the man and forcing him to turn his face to the trail once again. Michael just rolled his eyes and picked up the pace, not realising he was drifting closer and closer to the edge with every misguided step.

When he lost his footing, the rock crumbling beneath his shoe, he was pretty sure his heart beat slipped with it. He fell with a thud against the wooden fencing and stared, wide eyed at the other men before letting out half a sigh of relief. He only got as far as half his breath. The next second there was a sickening crack that echoed loud over the sound of the water and the fence gave way, wood rotten and weak collapsing beneath him. Michael’s terrified scream caught in his throat and he tumbled backwards, everyone disappearing out of his vision as his sight was taken over by blurred greens and browns.

He was helpless to stop or even slow his descent and he picked up momentum with every roll as he tumbled down the steep slope. He was lucky it hadn't been a straight drop it he would never have had a chance at surviving the fall. Not that he felt lucky as he finally skidded to a stop at the base, water roaring in the canyon below, terrifying him. His world was exploding with pain and there was a roaring in his ears that definitely wasn’t anything to do with the water thundering treacherously just feet down from where he lay.

Ryan grabbed Gavin around his waist as the Brit, in panic tried to run down after this boyfriend. More rock crumbled down under his feet and Ryan only just managed to get him away from the edge in time to stop him ending up in the same situation as Michael.

"Don't fucking do that, Gavin." He scolded as he leaned back against the cliff edge with Gavin in his arms.  
"We have to get to him!" The Brit exclaimed as he fought against Ryan's hold. 

"What good is it going to do if you fall down there with him?" Ryan countered, finally calming Gavin to a more stable state and the young man collapsed to his knees and Ryan disappeared off to the side, his map in his hands and a look of concentration on his face.

In the mean time the others were leaning carefully over the rail that was still standing, yelling Michaels name into the air, the wind echoing their words back to them. 

"MICHAEL CAN YOU HEAR ME?" Geoff screamed, voice carrying on the wind, high pitched and panicked over the water.

"Geoff I can't even see him!" Ray yelled, standing on his toes, Jack close behind in case any more of the rail gave way. 

"Ray be careful." He muttered, worry on his features but he was mainly distracted as he watched Geoff continue to scream himself hoarse trying to get a reply from the redhead. They had no idea if he had rolled into the gorge, he could have been swept away by the rushing water below but they shook away the thought in fear. 

"Down here! I can see him!" Ryan yelled from the other end of the cliff edge. He had spotted a path, slightly steep and rocky but not nearly as bad as the main trail, that led off from the end of the course they had been taking. He disappeared back down into the trees as the others raced after him.

Michael was laying just feet from them, on a ledge that ended barely inches from the end of his feet, a ledge that separated him from the five men who were staring on in fear. It was just out of jumping distance and, even though Gavin was apparently determined to fall down the gorge to get him, they weren’t going to try. They watched as he lay, unmoving and battered with the sun highlighting the wounds on his arms and, terrifyingly, his head. Frozen in shock until finally they snapped out of it like a shot and they were pressing themselves as close to the edge as they dared, screaming his name and calling for him to _please answer back._

Michael came to with a thumping headache, aching everywhere and the painful sound of high pitched screeching assaulting him from the side. He blinked, dazed and dizzy as he coughed against the thick dust lining his throat, there was a crack straight across the lenses in his glasses and he saw his boyfriends, sideways and through the fractured glass. He raised his head slightly, flinching in pain as his confused and concerned gaze met Geoffs from a few feet away.

“Michael, we’re going to get to you okay? Just stay calm.” Geoff told him in a steady tone and it took Michael only a moment to fully take in the precarious situation he was in. He took note of his arm that was dangling over the edge of the crumbling rock, completely bared to the threat below him and scrambled backwards despite his injuries.  
He winced and nearly blacked out from the agony that shot up his leg from his foot and he looked down to see the hurting appendage, nearly blacking out again. His left foot was nearly black with mottled bruising and it was bent at a completely unnatural angle, the bone straining against his skin threatening to break through. He whimpered and felt his breathing speed up, harsh breaths wheezing through the layer of muck in his throat.

“Get me the fuck away from here!” He yelled over the water sounds, the noise accompanied by the roaring of blood in his ears scaring him to no end.

In a panic he began scrambling up the way he had fallen, the surface crumbling beneath his hands as he climbed and the sounds of the other men telling him to stop and wait going completely over his head. He got a few feet up before the pain was too much and he couldn’t get enough of a grip on the stones and suddenly he was sliding back down, terrified screams sounding from around him and emitting from his own lips.

“Don’t fucking do that!” Geoff yelled gruffly across to him. “You’ll never fucking climb that!”

The failed attempt at climbing had pushed Michael even closer to the edge, his lower legs sticking out over the gorge and he jumped back again, hands grappling at the ground until he settled as far back as he could without sliding again.

“Just fucking stay there okay?” Jack instructed as calmly as he could and Michael let out a slow breath, closing his eyes and nodding back in response.

“You’re just too far for us to jump for you, Ryan’s gone with Ray to find help. We’ll get you down from there I promise.” Michael nodded again, not trusting his voice to stay steady if he spoke. He was panicking inside, he wasn’t about to deny it; dizzy and sick he laid his head back on the stones and blinked blearily up at the sky.  
“Hey, don’t fall asleep. Michael! Talk to us.” Jack called out and Michael tilted his head back in their direction.

“I’m scared.” He whispered, knowing they couldn’t hear him as a tear dripped down his face. Instead he settled for nodding, hoping they would see his small gesture and know he was listening the best he could. Despite his determination, however, the world was spinning around him and he just needed to close his eyes for a second, only a second to let him push away the unsettling feeling.

“Hey, Hey! What did I say? No sleeping.” There was definite panic in Jacks voice even though he tried to keep it quelled for Michaels sake. Michael’s eyes snapped open and he coughed; the ache in his body was rising to a constant torture and he wasn’t sure how much longer he could obey Jacks orders. The pain in his leg was beyond anything he had ever experienced and the harsh sunlight about him was draining his energy even further. Every time he blinked it took him longer and longer to reopen his eyes until, eventually with the sounds of frustrated and concerned cries ringing in his ears, he let them stay closed.

Gavin started screaming the second he saw Michael go completely limp, he had been quiet until then, hidden behind Jack pretending he wasn’t panicking but this was the final straw. He ignored the cries from Geoff and Jack, their yells echoing out over the water as he dropped to his knees and cried.

“What do we do Geoff?!” He sobbed to his boyfriend, shaking out of both stress and fear as the older man wrapped his arms around the terrified Brit. Both he and Jack were just as scared, concerned for their boyfriend but knowing that Ray and Ryan would be back soon with help and they just had to hold out long enough to stop themselves going insane.

Yells announced their Ryan and Ray’s return as they raced back down the hill towards the gathered men; they were sweating and panting heavily as they both came to a stop beside the them, leaning over they braced their hands on their knees and breathed deeply.

“Did you get someone?” Gavin let out a loud sob, pulling himself up off his knees and tackling Ray, grasping his upper arms firmly.

Ray just nodded, still panting heavily and pointed weakly up to the top of the track where two men in bright red coats and ropes over their shoulders were trekking down the hill after them. They reached the edge and were pointing over at the ledge, talking in fast, urgent voices to each other and to whoever was on the other end of their radio. The guys tried to edge closer to hear what they were saying but they were too busy to reply to their worried questioning. 

The five men watched with held breaths as ropes descended the rocky slope and a team of men came abseiling down them not long after, a stretcher following behind on a separate tether. Gavin whimpered as they reached Michael, quickly assessing him before lifting his limp body off the stone and onto the stretcher, giving the okay for the men at the top to raise him up. They ran as he was taken up, stumbling on the rocks and shrubbery as they scrambled to meet the men at the top.

“Is he okay?” Ryan asked in a rush as soon as they could grab the first person they saw.  
“We don’t know yet,” he answered honestly, an air or professionalism about him with a sympathetic undertone. “We’ll get him to the hospital and see how it goes from there.” It wasn’t a good enough answer for them, they felt like the world was imploding in on them as Michael was rushed past the mans back, an oxygen mask already strapped to his face.

“You guys have transport?” The man asked while winding the rope around his arm.

Geoff nodded briefly, although he knew the car was still a ways from where they were.  
“Can I go with him?” Gavin asked in a small voice, peeking out from behind Ryans shoulder where he had pressed his face to hide his tears. The mans expression was soft as he sighed and put out his arm towards the Brit.

“Sure, there’s room in the truck, come on.” None of the others complained as he disappeared towards the 4X4 that Michael was being loaded into. They got some quick directions from the men before they were ready to leave and suddenly they were alone again in the gorge. The trail had been cautioned off, the only evidence that anything had happened being the orange tape fluttering in the watery breeze.

They returned to the car in anxious silence. Then they waited some more.  
\---  
Michael groaned as he awoke, he was aching all over, laid out flat and he couldn’t remember why. His head felt like it had been stuffed to the brim with cotton balls and his throat was dry, every breath heavy against his lips. He could feel the soft grip of a hand in his though he couldn’t find the energy to look down and see who it was.

“You’re awake, fuck you’re awake.” A gruff but relieved voice sounded beside him, the hand tightening in his own and another hand rubbing soothing lines down his arm.

“Wha-” He coughed, hacking deep coughs that tore his throat open until someone wet his lips with cold moisture and he could breathe easier.

“You fell of a fucking cliff, Michael.” Ray whispered, his voice rough from stress and the lack of sleep. He sounded so defeated but there was a certain humour in his voice that spoke volumes about his relief. 

“Fuck.” Michael cursed. Not knowing what else to say he settled for squeezing Geoff’s hand and blinking up at the ceiling as his leg throbbed painfully. He could see Ryan nudging Gavin awake in the chair beside him and he guessed it was Jack who was suddenly at the end of the bed, rubbing his leg through the sheets. It was then he noticed that his left leg was raised up in a harness above the mattress, a thick cast covered the lower part of his shin and encased most of his foot and he whimpered as he tried to shift it.

“Yeah, fuck about covers it.” They all looked like they hadn’t slept properly in days and Michael wasn’t sure how long he had been out but it must have been a while, dark circles rested heavily beneath all of their eyes and their faces were pale and creased with lingering frowns.

“We were meant to be indoors.” Michael whispered to anyone, mostly himself and there was a collective chuckle in the air around him.

“Fuck yes.” Ray replied, nuzzling his head against Michael’s stomach and letting his face relax with sleep. They all followed suit pretty much immediately and Michael watched as, one by one, he was left awake alone with his sleeping boyfriends weighing down the bed, hands heavy all over him in protection.


End file.
